[Sidenote: GULF OF SALAMIS.] _Tuesday, 16th._--The gulf, or bay, of Salamis, into which we were now sailing, is a deep inlet, surrounded by an amphitheatre of low semicircular hills. Here the army of Xerxes was posted; and the highest of these knolls is still pointed out as the spot where stood the golden throne of the Persian monarch, when he looked upon that battle which so humbled his pride.
"A king sat on the rocky brow Which looks o'er sea-born Salamis; And ships, by thousands, lay below, And men in nations:--all were his. He counted them at break of day, And when the sun set, where were they?"
[Sidenote: ATHENS.] Again weighing anchor, in a quarter of an hour we entered Porto Leone,--the ancient Piræus; which, though deep enough to float a seventy-four, is so very narrow at the entrance, that there is but sufficient space for a vessel to pass, with a few feet on either side to spare. We regretted the orders were, to be on board at night, and that we should sail again at daylight. The ambassador landed under a salute; but I waved this ceremony, and hastened ashore with a party of officers and youngsters. We walked towards Athens, along the old road, and struck into the olive grove, very little of which now remains, it having been destroyed by both Greek and Turk. At length the Acropolis burst upon our anxious view; and, as we toiled up the hill of the Areopagus, the Temple of Theseus presented itself. Passing along the miserable collection of mud and stones, here dignified with the name of a wall, we entered this renowned city, once the seat of civilization and the arts, but which, at present, consists of little more than an assemblage of wretched hovels, the principal buildings having been nearly all destroyed. Near the gate, one good house has been rebuilt; and, a little farther on, a still larger mansion on speculation. [Sidenote: ENGLISH RESIDENTS AT ATHENS.]This being a holyday, the bazaar was closed, and after examining the remains of a building of Corinthian architecture, supposed to have been Adrian's Library, we passed on to the residence of Mr. Bell, an English gentleman, who has lately bought property near Athens, where he resides, in a building which has suffered less than many others. Mr. Finlay, who has lived upwards of ten years among the Greeks, also possesses large property in and about Athens. This gentleman undertook to be our cicerone, and we proceeded to the hotel in search of the Bavarian commandant, from whom it is necessary to obtain an order for admission, before we could visit the interior of the Acropolis. On reaching the hotel, which, by the by, is a most excellent and commodious house, we found the colonel at dinner, and the necessary permission was immediately granted. The Acropolis had only been surrendered to the new dynasty on Sunday last; and, had we arrived one week earlier, we should have seen the crescent still towering over this "abode of the Gods," instead of the Greek cross, by which it has been replaced.